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| 127 Hours |
Reviewed by Adam Minor
Danny Boyle’s latest film, “127 Hours” starring James Franco not only furthers Boyle’s stellar career, but the minimalist movement as well.
This past year, we were hit with two major minimalist films. “Buried” takes the movement to a whole new level, but “127 Hours” is a perfect complement; as well as a case study in fine writing, acting and directing.
It’s not easy to keep today’s ADHD-diagnosed audience’s attention when majority of your movie contains one actor in one setting. To accomplish this, you have to be creative, which is hard to come by in Hollywood today. Unique camera movements, a strong balance between funny and dramatic writing and dialogue, and great acting are all required in synchronisation to achieve this, and this film has it all.
The film follows the real-life crisis of Aron Ralston who, while hiking in the southwest, comes to have his arm trapped by a fallen boulder. Caught, literally, between a rock and a hard place, with no one knowing his location, Aron slowly succumbs to the frightening realisation that he may never get out alive.
Franco, who hasn’t necessarily impressed us in years past, (with the exception of “Pineapple Express” and “Milk”) really demonstrates his acting chops. Aron’s gradual decline into temporary insanity is brought to life by Franco’s performance. Franco makes you believe that the incredulous ideas for freedom that Aron thinks up are completely viable options.
Boyle’s direction is the glue that holds everything together. Using beautiful shots of the surrounding area, unique camera movements and interspersing between Boyle’s camera and Aron’s camera that he brings along, keeps the audiences attention extremely well.
With exceptional acting, directing, writing and cinematography, “127 Hours” is simply a film done well.
Rating: 4/5
This past year, we were hit with two major minimalist films. “Buried” takes the movement to a whole new level, but “127 Hours” is a perfect complement; as well as a case study in fine writing, acting and directing.
It’s not easy to keep today’s ADHD-diagnosed audience’s attention when majority of your movie contains one actor in one setting. To accomplish this, you have to be creative, which is hard to come by in Hollywood today. Unique camera movements, a strong balance between funny and dramatic writing and dialogue, and great acting are all required in synchronisation to achieve this, and this film has it all.
The film follows the real-life crisis of Aron Ralston who, while hiking in the southwest, comes to have his arm trapped by a fallen boulder. Caught, literally, between a rock and a hard place, with no one knowing his location, Aron slowly succumbs to the frightening realisation that he may never get out alive.
Franco, who hasn’t necessarily impressed us in years past, (with the exception of “Pineapple Express” and “Milk”) really demonstrates his acting chops. Aron’s gradual decline into temporary insanity is brought to life by Franco’s performance. Franco makes you believe that the incredulous ideas for freedom that Aron thinks up are completely viable options.
Boyle’s direction is the glue that holds everything together. Using beautiful shots of the surrounding area, unique camera movements and interspersing between Boyle’s camera and Aron’s camera that he brings along, keeps the audiences attention extremely well.
With exceptional acting, directing, writing and cinematography, “127 Hours” is simply a film done well.
Rating: 4/5
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